The two countries announced Wednesday they were resuming ties that had been suspended since 2010, when Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega joined several countries in breaking relations with the Jewish state in the wake of the Mavi Marmara incident, when Israeli naval commandos killed nine Turkish citizens in clashes on a boat attempting to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel did not have an embassy in Nicaragua at the time.

“Both governments view very favorably the re-establishment of ties with the aim of advancing joint cooperation for the advancement of both nations and to contribute to the struggle to achieve peace in the world,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that also was released by Nicaragua.